Embassy Row

Australia’s foreign minister arrives in Washington this week dogged by an Internet video that shows him cursing and pounding his desk in a rant that is fueling a political showdown with the prime minister.

In a YouTube video, Kevin Rudd throws the “f-bomb” along with other choice vulgarities, as he expresses his frustration over preparing to film a speech in Chinese.

He complains that the “[expletive] language” is too complicated. He is annoyed with the “[idiots] at the embassy” who fail to write in simple sentences for him. He also is irritated with a “bloody interpreter,” who is not identified.

The rant was filmed at some point when Mr. Rudd was prime minister, a position he held from 2007 to 2010. He told reporters last week that the embarrassing moments were supposed to have been outtakes but somehow ended up posted on the popular website just before he left on a trip to Mexico for the G-20 summit over the weekend.

He added that he “assumed” the outtakes were “destroyed at the time” and added that he had no idea who released them. Presumably, all video of him as prime minister were stored in a government office somewhere, he added.

The contretemps immediately sparked political charges in Australia, where Mr. Rudd is expected to challenge Prime Minister Julia Gillard in a leadership contest in the Labor Party in hopes of regaining the premiership he lost to her two years ago.

About the Author

James Morrison joined the The Washington Times in 1983 as a local reporter covering Alexandria, Va. A year later, he was assigned to open a Times bureau in Canada. From 1987 to 1989, Mr. Morrison was The Washington Times reporter in London, covering Britain, Western Europe and NATO issues. After returning to Washington, he served as an assistant foreign editor ...